Sibling rivalry spurs duo on

Rhys Shellard leads Wales into the first leg of the 2012/13 HSBC Sevens World Series in Australia.

Wales have embarked on the first leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series 2012/13 in Australia with just two new faces in their squad.

James Davies and Tom Williams will make their debuts in the series this weekend in the Gold Coast Sevens where Wales face Argentina, France and Portugal in Pool D. The pair are brothers of Wales backs Jonathan and Lloyd respectively and will be hoping international Sevens will help further improve their chances of emulating their famous siblings.

Wales got last season's campaign off to a flying start by claiming the Plate with a morale boosting win over Samoa and head coach Paul John says his side are now desperate to get playing after a successful pre-season.

"We're pleased with the way things have gone pre-season," he said. "We've worked on areas we needed to build on from last year to develop the group. Going out to play in a tournament in South Africa was hugely beneficial to the boys and we now just want to get the season under way."

Wales ultimately finished last season's campaign in eighth position overall, adding the South African Plate and England Bowl to their silverware collection but John is hopeful his squad can improve on that this season.

"There are 15 core teams in the programme this year and all will have their own expectations," he said. "It's going to be more difficult than ever to try and break into the top six. It's a massive year for us, we just have to start well and ensure we are more consistent and have consistency in selection.

"First and foremost we want to finish inside the top eight. We could have finished seventh last year, but one disappointing day at Twickenham showed how tight the margins are.

"We had a bitterly disappointing Day One on London where Spain beat us and Zimbabwe should also have beaten us. But on Day Two we had a decent day to win the Bowl. So that proves it doesn't matter who you come across, you can't switch off."

WRU International Skills Coach Jason Strange is a busy man, combining the new role with that of Wales Under 20 attack coach, Ebbw Vale head coach and continuing to teach at Ebbw Fawr Learning Community.

Warren Gatland and Sam Warburton look ahead to this week's crunch RBS 6 Nations tie against France, where the Wales skipper in particular is keen to make his mark, as Paris has proved a bleak place for him in the past.

Following their historic win over England, Wales Under 20 suffered a narrow, 36-34 loss to their Scottish counterparts last weekend, despite outscoring them by five tries to three. Watch the match highlights and reaction.

WRU TV go behind the scenes with the Wales squad as they put the final touches in place ahead of the clash against Scotland at Murrayfield. Follow the squad on their captain's run, the kickers visit to Murrayfield and Neil Jenkins' press conference